Chapter Summaries

Lord Mo forced the fleet to take a shortcut through the forbidden Devil's Triangle Sea Area so it could reach Moluo Country before the Zhailan Festival. As Li Mu investigated the suspicious route change, he learned the captain had been pressured and saw Lord Mo pleading with a mysterious Special Envoy.

• Lord Mo threatened the captain into changing the fleet’s route through the Devil's Triangle Sea Area, despite the captain’s warnings.
• During the voyage, Li Mu befriended Ge Tian, who later complained that the changed route had brought fierce storms and danger.
• Ge Tian told Li Mu that the captain had abandoned the fleet’s long-verified safe route, prompting Li Mu to investigate.
• The captain told Li Mu the route change would bring the fleet to Moluo City two months early, but his guarded answer heightened Li Mu’s suspicions.
• Lord Mo prostrated himself before a Special Envoy and promised the fleet would reach Moluo Country before the Zhailan Festival.

As the fleet crossed the Devil's Triangle Sea Area, Li Mu learned that a mysterious force had weakened cultivators' ability to sense and use Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. Ge Tian identified the phenomenon as a Yuan Qi Tide, which could bring large sea demons to the surface, and an alarm sounded from the fleet's lead ship.

• The fleet endured violent storms in the Devil's Triangle Sea Area, and two cargo ships were lost before the weather cleared.
• An invisible force swept across the fleet, leaving most passengers and crew unaware while Li Mu found his cultivation power severely diminished.
• Li Mu met Ge Tian on the way to the deck, where they saw other cultivators struggling to sense Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi.
• Ge Tian told Li Mu that they had encountered a Yuan Qi Tide, a rare phenomenon said to drive large sea demons to the surface.
• The lookout ship at the front of the fleet sounded a shrill alarm.

Li Mu fought to protect the fleet from a giant octopus sea monster during the Yuan Qi Tide, when most cultivators could not use their usual powers. After summoning Xiaopi to face the beast, Li Mu found that it had set its sights on him and the monkey.

• A giant sea monster smashed ships in the fleet, and Li Mu pulled Ge Tian to cover as panic spread.
• Ge Tian gave up hope, but Li Mu intercepted flying wreckage with his physical strength and urged him to keep fighting.
• Li Mu used his body-refining cultivation to break apart wreckage that threatened the flagship, recalling Lan Wan Yao's advice to cultivate both Qi and body.
• Li Mu spotted a colossal octopus beneath the sea and summoned Xiaopi from the Simulated Space.
• Xiaopi confronted the octopus while cultivators helped protect the fleet, but the monster focused its attention on Li Mu and Xiaopi.

A giant octopus sea monster attacked the fleet in the Devil’s Triangle Sea Area, forcing the passengers to evacuate while Li Mu and Xiaopi struggled to fight it at sea. More than half the flagship’s passengers escaped, but the captain, Ge Tian, and the remaining crew died with the ship as the monster destroyed the fleet.

• The octopus sea monster attacked the fleet, and Xiaopi leaped with Li Mu to another ship as its tentacle smashed the flagship’s bow.
• The Old Captain organized the evacuation, while Ge Tian and the cultivators enforced a women-and-children-first order.
• The Black-Robed Person killed the Golden-Robed Man and his followers, then escaped aboard a hidden sailing ship.
• Xiaopi punched and bit the octopus’s tentacle, drawing blood before the monster flung him and Li Mu several miles away.
• The enraged octopus exposed all its tentacles and destroyed the surviving merchant ships; over half the flagship’s passengers escaped, but the Old Captain, Ge Tian, and the crew perished.

After escaping the wrecked fleet, Li Mu and Little Monkey fought the giant octopus sea monster but were overwhelmed by its endless attacks. The octopus fled when a vast whirlpool appeared, only for Li Mu and Little Monkey to be dragged under and disappear.

• Li Mu and Little Monkey escaped the octopus’s attacks by sailing away in an empty boat, but the monster pursued them.
• After fleeing ten nautical miles, Li Mu and Little Monkey stopped to fight the octopus, with Little Monkey injuring its tentacles while Li Mu struggled to damage them.
• As the pair faced another attack, the octopus abruptly froze and fled in another direction.
• A giant whirlpool formed nearby and pulled Li Mu and Little Monkey from their shattered boat into the sea.
• The whirlpool dissipated twenty breaths later, leaving the sea calm and Li Mu and Little Monkey nowhere to be seen.

Li Mu woke aboard a Penglai fishing boat after surviving a sea vortex, rescued alongside Xiaopi. When the fisherman learned Li Mu came from the Cangyun Empire, he grew wary, and his family kept their distance.

• Li Mu woke in the fishing boat’s cabin, where the fisherman told him that Run'er and Jin'er had found him drifting at sea.
• Li Mu learned Xiaopi had been rescued after crying for help, then found the monkey had eaten much of the boat’s tuna.
• Li Mu offered the fisherman thirty Cangyun Coins to repay him for the fish.
• The fisherman reacted uneasily to the coins and learned that Li Mu was from the Cangyun Empire.
• The fisherman explained that they were in the Immortal Kingdom of Penglai, and his wife and children withdrew from Li Mu.

Li Mu learned that the Immortal Kingdom of Penglai had split into two rival nations after its defeat by Cangyun, and he sought a route to the South Sea. He decided to travel to Hondao City, whose port remained open to the outside world.

• Li Mu shared food and wine with a fisherman’s family, who welcomed him despite his Cangyun origins.
• The fisherman explained that Penglai’s Ten Elders had split into two factions after the war, with the Warmongering Faction ruling the east and five opposing Elders establishing a rival nation in the west.
• The fisherman’s wife said their household had learned about the split from a friend at the Historical Archives Pavilion.
• Li Mu asked about routes to the South Sea, and the fisherman suggested checking the ports of large cities.
• Li Mu decided to head to Hondao City to seek passage from its port.

Li Mu traveled from a fishing village to Hondao City, where he learned that the Azure Dragon Chamber of Commerce planned to sail to Guixu Island in the South Sea. He prepared to seek passage with the fleet as a consequential conversation began in the city lord’s mansion.

• Li Mu said goodbye to the bald man and his family, gave Run'er and Jin'er protective jade bracelets, and continued west.
• Li Mu disguised himself before entering Hondao City, where he observed West Penglai’s open trade and prosperous commercial routes.
• Li Mu and Little Monkey sampled Hondao City’s local dishes while Li Mu gathered information about ships bound for the South Sea.
• Li Mu bribed a Navigation Office handyman and found a departing Azure Dragon Chamber of Commerce fleet headed for Guixu Island.
• Li Mu booked an inn and planned to approach the merchant company, while a fateful conversation began in Hondao City’s City Lord’s Mansion.

Baili decided that the Immortal Kingdom of Penglai must publicly admit its aggression and apologize to the Cangyun Empire, then lead an emissary group to Qinglan City to seek Huangfu Qing’s help against Sikong and Xiangqu. Shen Bairu and the other Ten Elders agreed to accompany him and atone for their part in the war.

• Zuoqiu and the other Ten Elders questioned Baili’s plan to apologize, fearing it would damage Penglai’s standing.
• Baili argued that the people had given Penglai its power and that their welfare mattered more than his reputation.
• Baili showed the Ten Elders a list of ordinary people who supported Penglai and said he would repent for the invasion to win the Cangyun Empire’s support.
• Shen Bairu pledged to go with Baili to the Cangyun Empire.
• Daoist Zuoqiu, Gongsun Huan, and Murong Bin also agreed to join the mission and atone for their roles in the war.

An Jing experienced a nightmarish vision of living corpses overrunning Hondao City and the Immortal Kingdom of Penglai before collapsing in exhaustion. She woke bound in a hospital bed as Baili learned that hundreds of people had suffered similar violent episodes in their sleep.

• After returning home to rest, An Jing woke to find Hondao City ablaze and a living corpse attacking nearby.
• An Jing fled toward the central plaza but found it packed with living corpses, including a colleague from her medical clinic.
• An Jing escaped through the East City Gate and ran across Penglai as living corpses overran cities, villages, sects, and armies.
• An Jing collapsed after being pursued across the Immortal Kingdom and awoke restrained in a hospital bed.
• Shen Bairu reported that three hundred people had gone mad in recent days, and Baili opened a Spatial Rift and departed.

Baili investigated the strange illness afflicting Hondao City and suspected East Penglai or the Blood organization was behind it. He sensed Li Mu’s disguised presence, brought him to a courtyard, and demanded to know who he was; Li Mu revealed his face, leaving Baili shocked.

• Baili arrived in Hondao City and used his power to search the city for hidden East Penglai or Blood organization cultivators.
• Baili detected Li Mu at a tavern, recognized his unusual pure yang qi, and suspected his disguise concealed his identity.
• Baili teleported Li Mu to a traditional courtyard and pressured him to explain who he was.
• Li Mu recognized Baili and gambled that the elder had not captured him simply because he was from the Cangyun Empire.
• Li Mu removed his disguise, and Baili recognized him with surprise.

Li Mu met Baili in Hondao City, where Baili proposed an alliance between West Penglai and the Cangyun Empire and warned that the Blood organization was backing East Penglai. Li Mu considered bringing Baili’s warning to Huangfu Qing as the city’s strange illness continued to threaten them.

• Baili recognized Li Mu but set aside his hostility and asked whether the Cangyun Empire planned to act against West Penglai.
• Li Mu reassured Baili that the Cangyun Empire would not punish West Penglai’s people for the war.
• Baili offered an alliance and exclusive Immortal Realm resources, including the Cultivator Training System and Energy Stone technology.
• Baili warned that the Black-Robed Persons were supporting Sikong and Xiangqu and could use East Penglai to threaten the Cangyun Empire again.
• Baili gave Li Mu a jade pendant and urged him to stay in the courtyard while he investigated the Nightmare Strange Illness in Hondao City.
• After Baili departed, Li Mu considered discussing his warning with Huangfu Qing.

Four hidden agents plotted to spread nightmares through Hondao City and prepare a Purple Flame Cage, while Huangfu Qing called an emergency meeting and proposed sending Cangyun Empire troops to help West Penglai defeat Sikong. The meeting ended with the empire’s elites stunned by her plan, while Liu Yi suggested that Huangfu Qing had finally made a long-considered decision.

• Four shadowy agents discussed their plan to spread nightmares in Hondao City, and the leader ordered them to prepare for constructing a Purple Flame Cage.
• Huangfu Qing summoned Cangyun Empire leaders, including Yun Li'er and Liu Yi, to discuss a major matter affecting the empire’s future.
• Huangfu Qing proposed sending troops to Penglai to end West Penglai’s civil war and destroy Sikong’s East Penglai forces.
• The gathered officials and generals reacted with disbelief because the empire was still rebuilding after the war and lacked resources.
• Liu Yi treated the proposal as a decision Huangfu Qing had long been weighing, while Liu Long asked why it contradicted recent plans to cut military spending.

Li Mu investigated the strange incidents in Hondao City while waiting for news from Huangfu Qing. In the Imperial Capital, Huangfu Qing and Liu Yi committed the Cangyun Empire to war against East Penglai to aid West Penglai.

• Li Mu used a Dharmic Treasure to relay his conversation with Baili to Huangfu Qing and decided to investigate the anomalies in Hondao City.
• Officials urged Huangfu Qing not to send troops overseas because the empire lacked the resources to fight another war.
• Liu Yi declared that the Cangyun military would obey Huangfu Qing’s decree and fight East Penglai.
• Huangfu Qing decreed that the empire would declare war in seven days and prepare to land on Penglai Island to help West Penglai capture Penglai City.

Li Mu met with Huangfu Qing before traveling to Hondao City as the Cangyun Empire’s envoy to negotiate an alliance with West Penglai. He offered a hundred thousand troops in exchange for extensive trade, political, and military concessions, leaving Baili and the others to consider the terms.

• Li Mu agreed that Huangfu Qing would relay his decision to Baili and warned her to rest and stay safe.
• Li Mu arrived at West Penglai’s busy command post in Hondao City and observed how its officials worked together.
• Baili welcomed Li Mu to a meeting with Shen Bairu, Daoist Zuoqiu, Sun Zhonghuan, and Murong Bin.
• Li Mu offered at least one hundred thousand Cangyun Empire troops to help capture Penglai City and seize Sikong and Xiangqu.
• Li Mu presented conditions including permanent port access, lower tariffs, and a military alliance, then left the West Penglai leaders to consider the agreement.

As the Cangyun Empire declared war on the East Penglai Kingdom, Li Mu broke through to the Immeasurable Realm and learned to fly. He then opened the Simulation System’s newly unlocked talents and discovered several powerful abilities.

• The Cangyun Empire declared war on the East Penglai Kingdom, and Huangfu Qing rallied the nation as its military prepared for battle.
• Li Mu repeatedly attempted to break through, then used an Immortal Grade Pill and concentrated his Pure Yang Vital Energy to force open the golden gate.
• Li Mu reached the Immeasurable Realm, where his Pure Yang Nascent Soul became a golden Immeasurable Sea.
• Li Mu mastered walking through the air and flew above Hondao City.
• Li Mu checked the upgraded Simulation System and unlocked the Acala, Medicine Spirit Physique, and Three Flowers Undying talents.

After reaching the Immeasurable Realm, Li Mu examined his newly unlocked talents but could not choose among them. He discovered that Granny Yodel and Armored Ox Brother had become conversational intelligent AIs, then turned to inspect the Warehouse System.

• Li Mu weighed Acala’s ability to block one instance of damage, the Medicine Spirit Physique’s pill-enhancing effect, and Three Flowers Undying’s yearly resurrection, but made no choice.
• Li Mu checked the Refinement System and found that its refinement success rate had increased.
• Li Mu entered the Shop System and was startled when Granny Yodel greeted him conversationally and spoke with Armored Ox Brother.
• Granny Yodel and Armored Ox Brother explained that they had gained intelligence as Li Mu’s cultivation advanced, while the shop’s item compatibility evaluations had also become more detailed.
• Li Mu left the shop and opened the Warehouse System, where he encountered something unexpected.

Li Mu explored the newly expanded Small World and considered establishing a sect there before investing his talent points in Three Flowers Undying ahead of the coming war with East Penglai. A young woman then told him that Lord Baili had found a clue to the Nightmare Strange Illness, and Li Mu went to the City Lord's Mansion to discuss it.

• Li Mu surveyed the Small World and discovered a Spirit Spring valley filled with medicinal herbs and a crimson peak whose increasing gravity made it suitable for body tempering.
• Li Mu considered founding a sect in the Small World, suspecting the system’s recent changes were guiding him toward that goal.
• Li Mu invested all his talent points in Three Flowers Undying, valuing its extra life as protection against East Penglai and the hidden experts of the “Blood” organization.
• A young woman arrived at midnight and told Li Mu that Lord Baili had found a clue to the Nightmare Strange Illness.
• Li Mu went with the young woman to the City Lord's Mansion to discuss the discovery.

Li Mu agreed to serve as bait in West Penglai’s plan to expose the Black-Robed Persons behind the nightmare illness in Hondao City. Baili outlined a mission in which Li Mu and three companions would enter his dream and find its core so they could track down the Dream Weaver.

• Baili and Shen Bairu explained that the Black-Robed Persons were causing casualties in Hondao City and had evaded their attempts to trace them.
• Xiao Taowan volunteered to be bait, but Li Mu offered himself because his cultivation, sea of consciousness, and Dao heart suited the plan.
• Li Mu persuaded Baili and Shen Bairu to let him lead the operation despite his ties to the Cangyun Empire and Huangfu Qing.
• Baili explained that he would mark Li Mu’s sea of consciousness, allowing three companions to enter his dream and help locate its core.
• Xiao Taowan and two other Nascent Soul Realm Perfection cultivators were chosen to join Li Mu in the dream operation.

Li Mu and his companions entered his dreamscape to search for the Black-Robed Person, but the Dream Weaver stripped away their cultivation and disrupted their connection. Li Mu found himself trapped in a cave with only Xiao Taowan, while the other two Cultivators were left in mortal danger.

• Li Mu and Xiao Taowan posed as siblings in Hondao City while he worked at the City Lord's Mansion and waited for the Black-Robed Person to act.
• After five days, Li Mu and his companions fell asleep to enter his dreamscape, while poisoning victims in Hondao City increased to over a hundred each day.
• Li Mu woke in an icy underground river inside a karst cave and discovered that the Dream Weaver had removed his cultivation.
• Xiao Taowan appeared beside Li Mu, but they could not find the other two Cultivators or sense their cultivation.
• Baili tried to connect all three companions to the dreamscape, but the Dream Weaver nearly shattered their consciousnesses, forcing Baili to send only Xiao Taowan through and abandon the other two.